Method and apparatus for wrapping saw blades or the like



Jan. 11, 1949. H. E. WILSON ETAL' OD AND APPARA 2,458,971- MEI'H TUS'FOR WRAPPING SAW BLADES OR THE LIKE Filed Feb. 27, 1946 5 Sheets-$heet 1Jan. 11, 1949. H. a WILSON ETAL 2,458,971

- I METHOD APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING I SAW BLADES OR THE LIKE 5Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 27, 1946 mm mm mm N? am w l I I' II I I Wm m wMM Jan. 11, 1949. H. E. WILSON ET AL 2,458,971

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING SAW BLADES OR THE LIKE F iled Feb. 27.1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 11, 1949. 'H. E. WILSON ET AL METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR WRAPPING SAW BLADES OR THE LIKE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 FiledFeb. 27, 1946 I INVENTORS Hear 4 Wm m W ww f WW 5w 4% M am 11, 4 H. E.WILSON ETAL 7 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WRAPPING.

' SAW BLADES OR THE LIKE -5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 27, 1946 INVENTORSPatented Jan. 11, 1949 METHOD AND APPAR SAW BLADES Henry E. Wilson andGer Junction, 0010., Saw Corporation, of Delaware Application February27,

19 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of wrapping and, in particular, to amethod and apparatus for wrapping thin, flat articles, specificallyendlessbands, such as band-saw blades.

Because of the lack of a satisfactory machine for wrapping band-sawblades, it has been the practice heretofore to ship them bare incylindrical containers after doubling them on them-- selves severaltimes to provide a multiple loop of reduced diameter. When severalblades are thus packed in the container, the teeth of the blades aresubjected to direct contact with the backs of adjacent blades and, underthe shock and vibration incident to handling and shipping, the sharpnessof the teeth is materially impaired. We have invented a novel method andapparatus for applying a wrapping to the blades so that they areprotected from contact with each other during shipment and may thus bedelivered to the user with the teeth as sharp as they left the factory.

In a preferred embodiment and practice of our invention, we provide atable adapted to support a band placed thereon on edge with means foradvancing the band along a predetermined path. We deliver a wrappingstrip longitudinally of the blade and provide spaced folding guides forturning up the edges of the strip about the blade and then turning oneof the edges downwardly over the We continue the application of thewrapping strip until the entire length of the band has been covered. Inwrapping endless bands, we make the last fold in the wrapping striptoward the After the wrapping has been completed, we turn the bandinside out,

thus stretching the lapped edges of the wrapping strip so that there isno tendency for the edges to unfold. The means for pulling the blade andwrapping guides is preferably a pair of pinch rolls which serve tocrease the folds in the wrapping strip.

A complete understanding 'of the invention may be obtained from thefollowing detailed description whichv refers to the accompanyingdrawings illustrating and practice. In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan View of our wrapping apparatus;

Figure 2 is an elevation thereof;

Figures 3 and 4 are plan views to enlarged scale of the followingguides,"

Figure 5 isa transverse section taken along the plane of lineV-V ofFigure 3, showing the first 1 folding guide in elevation;

upper edge of the blade.

strip through the folding a preferred embodiment ATUS FOR WRAPPING ORTHE LIKE ald W. assignors to Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation Wilson,Grand Pittsburgh-Erie 1946, Serial No. 650,598

raised position by a tension spring 26 secured H first folding guideVIIVII of Figure 3 plane of line XIX[ pivotally mounted in a block 2|.passes through manually operated of the lever 23 remote beyond the post28 Figure 6 is a similar section taken along the plane of line VIVI ofFigure 4, showing the second folding guide in elevation;

Figure 7 is a horizontal section through the taken along the plane ofline 5; V

Figure 8 is a similar section through the second folding guide takenalong the plane of line VIII-VIII of Figure 6;

Figure 9 is a plan view of the table to enlarged scale with the foldingguides removed;

Figure 10 is a transverse section taken along the plane of line XX ofFigure 9,

Figure 11 is a similar section taken along the of Figure 1;

Figure 12 is a diagrammatic plan view to enlarged scale showing theseveral stages in the folding of the strip about the band.

Figures 13 through 15 are sectionsthrough the j ustrip as it is beingwrapped taken along the planes of the correspondingly numbered lines ofFigure 12;

Figure 16 is a perspective view of a band after it has been Wrapped; andV 4 Figure 17 shows the same band after it has been turned inside out.

Referring in detail to the drawings and, for the present, particularlyto Figures 1 and 2, our apparatus comprises a table [0 including abandsupporting portion ll' of any desired size and a strip-feedingandfolding portion l2. The table is adapted to support an endless band l3on edge for movement through a predetermined path during which movementthe wrapping strip is progressively applied thereto and foldedthereabout. 7

The strip-feeding portion [2 of the table ID has legs [4 and I 5. A rollof wrappingstrip I6 is disposed in a suitable holder l1 attached to thelegs l5 and the strip S drawn therefrom passes over a guide roll I8 atthe righthand end of the table. The strip is fed along the table betweenside guides l9 and under a tensioning foot 20 The strip then cross cutshear As shown in Figure 11, this-shear comprises thereto and to a bolt21 on a guide post 28. The posts 24 and 28 are secured to the sides ofthe strip-feeding portion 12 of the table. The end from the post 24projects and forms an operating handle. It will be apparent that thestrip S may be cut off when desired by downward movement of the lever23. The shear 22 serves to sever the strip when the wrapping of a bandhas been completed.

A guide roller of the table beyond l3 as it approaches said 29 at oneside of the portion |2 the shear 22 directs the band portion andsuccessively enters strip-folding guides 3|] and 3|. A guide 32 adjacentthe roller 29 insures the proper entry of the wrapping strip under thelower edge of the band. The guides 30 and 3| are in the form of blockshinged to a plate 33 on the strip-feeding portion |2 of the table. Thisplate is actually formed of two pieces but will be referred to as asingle member. As clearly shown in Figures 3 and 5, the guide 30 ispivotedto a hinge block 34, has an operating handle 35 and is yieldablyheld in operative position by a spring pressed detent 36 mounted in ablock 31. The guide 30 has an insert 3-8 which may conveniently be offiber or other easily machinable material. The insert is removablysecured in place by any convenient means and is provided withlongitudinal slots 3-9 and 40. The insert 38 extends downwardly into acentral longitudinal recess 4| in plate 33. As shown in Figure 9; therecess includes a tapering entrance 41a, a restricted portion 4|b and awider portion Me. The slot 39 is dimensioned to admit the band H! as itis moved forward through the guide by traction means to be describedsubsequently. The slot flares toward the entrance end "as clearly shownin Figures 3 and 5. The slot is adapted to receive one edge of the stripS and serves when the edge is properly started thereinto,.progressivelyto fold up the edge as shown in Figurel. The material of the insert 38which is left when the slots 39 and 40 are cut out forms a central.longitudinal guide fin 42.

The folding guide 3-'| also comprises a block pivoted toa hinge block43. It has a handle 44 and is yieldably held in operative position by aspring-pressed. deten t 45111 a block 46. An insert 41 of fiber or thelike is re'i'novably secured to the block 3| and extends downwardlytherefrom into the recess Me. The insert 41' has a longitudinal slot 48therein flaring toward the entrance end which admits the band with bothedges of the wrapping strip folded upwardly around the lower edge of theband. As the band and strip enter the guide 30, the edgeof the stripprojecting above the band is progressively folded downwardlytherearou'nd.

The tracticn means for pulling the band and wrapping-strip through theguides 38 and 3| comprises a pair of pinch rolls 49 and 50 as shown toenlarged scale in Figures 9 and 10. The roll 19 is mounted on a shaft49a journaled in the table portion l2. The roll 50 is mounted on a shaft500 journaled in a blockpivoted to the table portion 1 2 on a pin 52. Acompression spring 53 disposed in recessesin the table portion l2 andthe block 5'! normally urges the latter outwardly whereby "therolls areopened. A shaft 54 extending through the block 5| and threaded into atapped hole in the table portion |2 has a fixed side cam 55 thereon. Arotatable side cam 56 cooperating therewith has an operating lever-'51.Thus bythrowing the lever, the block '51 is forced toward the tableportion l2 against the compression spring 53, thereby bringing the pinchrolls into engagement with a band disposed therebetween. The rollspreferably have tires 50b of material such as rubber having a suitablecoefficient of friction to enable the rolls to exert the desiredtractive force.

The shafts 49a and 50a have gears 58 thereon. The shaft 50a is driven bya motor 59 mounted on the legs M of the table, through a reducing gearand a flexible coupling '61. The gears 58 are designed to permit slightmovement of the block 5| incident to closing and opening the pinch rollswithout disturbing the meshing relation thereof.

A guide roller 62 is journaled on the table portion l2 adjacent thepinch rolls to direct the portion of the band leaving the latter.

In utilizing the apparatus described above to perform our method ofwrapping endless bands, a band, such as that shown at I3, is placed onthe table I. The folding guides 30 and 3| having been swung upwardly andback out of the way and the pinch rolls having been opened up, the bandis disposed in the recess 4| and between the pinch rolls. The leadingend of the strip S is manually drawn forward from the shear 22 under theguide 32 and through the restricted portion 4|b of the recess 4|, theedges of the strip, of course, being folded up to permit this. The stripis so disposed laterally of the table portion |-2 that one edge thereof,when folded up about the band i3, will project upwardly above the upperedge thereof as shown in Figure 13; When both edges of the strip havebeen folded about the band, as shown in Figure 14, the strip edgeprojecting above the upper edge of the band is folded down thereover asshown in Figure 15. When the leading end of the strip thus folded hasbeen disposed between the pinch rolls 49 and 50, the guide 3| isloweredto the position shown in Figure 6, the edge of the strip beingmanipulated manually to permit this. Next, the guide 311 is replaced inoperative position. When these preparations have been completed, thelever 51 is turned down, thereby causing the pinch rolls to seize theband and the leading end of the wrapping strip which has been foldedthereabout by hand- As'soon as the pinch rollsgrip the band enclosedinthe folded wrapping strip, they pull both. the band andstrip forwardthrough the guides 30 and 3|. The latter progressively effect thefolding of the strip edges about the band in the successive stepsillustrated in Figures 12 through 15. That-is to say, one edge of thestrip, indicated at 63, is folded up. by the guide 30; the other edge ofthe strip 64 remaining in its original plane and passing under the:insert 38 of guide 30. It will be observed that the edge 63 when foldedextends upwardly above the upper toothed edge of the band B. On enteringthe restricted portion Mb of the recess 4|, however, the edge 64 isprogressively folded up. This condition is illustrated in Figure 14. Theupwardly projecting edge 63' of the strip is folded down over the upperedge of the band |3 progressively on entering the insert 41 of guide 3|.This condition isillustrated in Figure 15. It will be noted that thelapped edges. 53 and B4. of the strip are on the inside of the loopformed by the band.

Continued operation of. the pinch. rolls even.- tually brings theleading end of the wrapping strip toward. the entering end of the guide3|]. The operator then manipulates the shear 22 to cut ed the strip atapoint such that sufficient length is allowed to lap. the leading end asit returns to starting position. When the severed trailing end of thestrip has passed through the pinch rolls, the lever 31 is operated torelease the latter, whereupon the wrapped band may be removed by raisingthe guides 30- and 31. The pinch rolls serve to crease the folds in thewrap.- ping strip formed by the guides 30 and 3 I When the band has beenremoved from the guides, it is in the condition shown in Figure 16, withthe lapped edges of the wrapping strip on the inside. The band is thenmanually turned inside out to the position shown in Figure 17 with thelapped edges of the wrapping strip on the exterior. This places thelapped edges under a slight tension circumferentially of the band whichissufiicient to prevent unwrapping without the application of seals orties. The wrapped band is then doubled on itself to form a multiple loopsuitable for packing in the usual cylindrical shaped .container- It willbe apparent from the foregoing that our invention comprises a highlyuseful method and apparatus whereby endless bands such as bandsaw bladesmay be wrapped easily and at high speed so that the cost of the wrappingoperation is very small. The apparatus is relatively simple andinexpensively constructed and may be operated by relatively unskilledlabor. The ad vantage of wrapped band-saw blades over bare blades fromthe standpoint of avoiding damage to the teeth edges during shipment andhandling, is so obvious as to require no emphasis. A further advantage,of course, is that persons handling the blades are protected againstinjury by the sharp teeth "thereof. While the invention has beenexplained with special reference to the wrapping of band-saw blades, itwill be apparent that it may also be used for other articles as well.

Although we have illustrated and described but a preferred method andpractice of our invention, it will be recognized thatchanges in thedetails of construction and procedure may be made without departing fromthe spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for wrapping saw blades or the like comprising a table,traction rolls thereon adapted to engage a blade placed on edge on thetable, means for delivering a wrapping strip longitudinally of theblade, and guide blocks spaced along the table effective progressivelyto fold the edges of the strip around the blade as it is pulled throughthe blocks by said rolls.

2. Apparatus for wrapping saw blades or the like comprising a tableadapted to support a blade on edge, means for advancing successiveportions of the length of the blade along the table, -a pair of spacedguide blocks directing said portions in a predetermined path, the firstof said blocks having means for folding up about the blade the edges ofa strip of wrapping material, the second of said blocks having means forfolding one of said edges down over the blade.

3. The apparatus defined by claim 2 characterized by said advancingmeans comprising traction rolls adjacent the exit end of the secondguide block.

4. Apparatus for wrapping saw blades or the like comprising a tableadapted to support a blade on edge, folding guides spaced along thetable, traction means for drawing the blade through said guides, andmeans for supplying a wrapping strip longitudinally of the portion ofthe blade between the guides, said guides being adapted respectively tofold the edges of the strip upwardly about the lower edge of the bladeand downwardly over the upper edge of the blade.

5. Apparatus for progressively folding a wrapping strip longitudinallyabout an endless band through, and means for and means such asabandesaw. blade, comprisinga table adapted to support a band onedge,traction means for pulling the band, spaced guiideson the table havingslots for the band to pass delivering a wrapping strip longitudinally ofthe band, one of said guides also having surfaces effectiveprogressively to fold the edges of the strip upwardly about the band.

6. I'he apparatus defined by claim Scharacterized by said one of saidguides having a slot to accommodate an edge of the strip which'extendsabove the band after the initial folding.

7. Apparatus for progressively folding a wrapping strip longitudinallyabout an endless band such as a band-saw blade, comprising a tableadapted to support a band on edge, traction means for pulling the band,spaced guides on the table having slots for the band to pass through,

for delivering a wrapping strip longitudinally of the band, one ofsaidguides also having surfaces effective progressively to fold theedges of the strip upwardly about the band, the second guide having asurface effective progressively to fold down about the band an edge ofthe strip extending thereabove.

8. Apparatus for progressively folding a wrapping strip longitudinallyabout an endless band such as a band-saw blade, comprising asubstantially horizontal table adapted to support a band on edge,traction means for pulling the band, means for delivering a wrappingstrip longitudinally of theiband, a guide block for progressivelyfolding the edges of the strip upwardly about the band, and'a secondguide block for progressively folding down about the band one of saidedges extending thereabove.

9. The apparatus defined by claim 8 characterized by said traction meansbeinga pair of pinch rolls located adjacent the outlet of the secondguide block adapted to crease the folds in said strip.

10. Apparatus for progressively folding a wrapping strip longitudinallyabout an endless band such as a band-saw blade, comprising a tableadapted to support a band on edge, a pair of pinch rolls for pulling theband, means for supplying a wrapping strip longitudinally of the band, aguide block spaced from said rolls having a slot adapted to receive theband and surfaces adapted progressively to fold the edges of the stripupwardly about the band, and a. second guide block adjacent the rollshaving a slot adapted to accommodate the band and a surface adaptedprogressively to fold down about the band an edge of the strip extendingthereabove.

11. The apparatus defined by claim 10 characterized by said blocks beingliftable from the table and said slots and surfaces being formed in thebottoms of said blocks.

12. The apparatus defined by claim 10 characerized by said slots andsurfaces being formed in the bottoms of said blocks, and said blocksbeing hinged to said table whereby they may be thrown up out of the Wayfacilitating the starting of a band between said rolls and its removaltherefrom when wrapped.

13. The apparatus defined by claim 10 characterized by means for causingsaid rolls to engage and release a band disposed therebetween.

14. In a method of wrapping an endless band such as a band-saw blade,the steps including placing the band with one of its edges on asubstantially horizontal supporting surface, pulling the band along a.predetermined path, feeding a strip of. wrappingimaterial alongl saidpath and progressively folding the the band. V v

15. Ina methodiofawraxipingan endlessband such as a band-saw blade,the-steps including placing the .band with one of its edges on asubstantially horizontal. supporting surface, feed:-

edges'of the. strip around ing a strip of wrapping: material along aportion tending above the blade, folding said one edge downwardly overthe blade, and continuingsaid folding progressively throughout thelength of the blade. 1 i

1'2. In a method of wrapping an endless-band such as a band-saw blade,the steps including advancing successive portions of the length of theband along a predetermined path, progressively folding the edges of. astrip of wrapping material around the band toward the inside of the loopformed thereby, with one of said edges overlapping the other, andturning the fully wrapped band inside out-so the edges ofthe strip aredisposed on the outside of the band.

18. Apparatus for progressively folding a wrapping strip longitudinallyabout an endless band such as a band-saw blade, comprising a tableadapted to support a bandon edge, traction means for pulling the band,means for delivering awrappingstrip-longitudinally of the band, andguide meansfor progressively folding the edges of the strip'upwardlyabout the band, said guide means including ablock having a slot toaccommodate theband and a slot to accommodate an edge or the stripextending above the band when folded;

'19. In amethod of wrapping a flat blade, the steps comprisingsimultaneously advancing the blade and a wrapping strip generallylongitudinally of the blade and with the wrapping strip in contaet'withoneof the edges of the blade and during said advance progressivelyfolding the wrapping strip so that portions of it lie on oppositesidesof the bladewith at least one of said portions extending beyond theopposite edge of the: blade and turning said portion of the wrappingstrip about said opposite edge of the blade.

. HENRY E. WILSON.

GERALD W. WILSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis pat'ent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,500,472 Seherner July 8, 19241,545,022 Wheildon July 7,1925 1,837,840 Slusher Dec. 22, 19312,010;082- Hill Aug. 6, 1935 2,033,201 MacChesney Mar. 10, 1936 2,109,501 Ringler Mar. 1, 1938 2,168,583 Ringler Aug. 8, 1939 v FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 327,229 Great Britain Apr. 3, 1930 Reissued May 16,1950 Re, 25,251

Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,458,971. January 11, 1949. HENRYE. WILSON ET AL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 1, line 52, for the word following read folding;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correctiontherein that the same may conform to the record of the case in thePatent Oflice.

Signed and sealed this 17th day of May, A. D. 1949.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant G'omm'z'ssz'oner of Patents.

